Astex Pharmaceuticals and Otsuka announce results of the phase 3 ASTRAL-1 study of guadecitabine (SGI-110) in treatment-naïve AML patients ineligible to receive intense induction chemotherapy

• Guadecitabine did not meet the co-primary endpoints of complete response (CR) rate or overall survival (OS) in the ASTRAL-1 study
• Astex continues to focus on completing the phase 3 ASTRAL-2 and ASTRAL-3 studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of guadecitabine in relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML) and relapsed and refractory myelodysplastic syndromes (R/R MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML)

Pleasanton, CA and Tokyo, Japan, July 30th, 2018. Astex Pharmaceuticals, a member of the Otsuka group of companies, and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., announce top-line results from the ASTRAL-1 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of guadecitabine (SGI-110) in adults with previously untreated AML who are not eligible for intensive induction chemotherapy. The study did not meet its co-primary endpoints: complete response (CR) rate (p>0.04), and overall survival (OS) (p>0.01) as per the protocol analysis plan, compared with the control arm of physician’s choice of azacitidine, decitabine, or low dose cytarabine. Evaluation of the study’s secondary endpoints and safety data is ongoing. The full data will be presented at an upcoming scientific meeting.

The company continues to focus on completing the ongoing global phase 3 ASTRAL-2 and ASTRAL-3 studies evaluating guadecitabine in the treatment of relapsed and refractory AML and relapsed and refractory MDS and CMML.

“We are disappointed in the outcome of the ASTRAL-1 study,” said Mohammad Azab, Astex’s president and chief medical officer. “The study used very strict criteria of ineligibility to receive intensive chemotherapy based on age (over 75 years) or poor performance status (ECOG PS of 2 or 3) or comorbidities, which made it a difficult population to show superior benefit of guadecitabine.” Dr. Azab also added, “ASTRAL-1 is the largest global prospective study ever conducted in this specific patient population with low intensity therapy, with 815 patients randomized, of whom about 90% were treated with hypomethylating agents or HMAs (guadecitabine, azacitidine, or decitabine). The large body of clinical and genetic data will still provide the medical community with very valuable insights into the role of several prognostic clinical and genetic markers that may influence outcome with HMA treatment. We are extremely grateful to all the patients, physicians and other healthcare professionals, and partner research and manufacturing organizations who contributed to this global effort. We are now looking forward to the completion of the ASTRAL-2 and ASTRAL-3 studies currently actively recruiting in two different indications.”

About Guadecitabine (formerly SGI-110)

Guadecitabine is a next-generation DNA hypomethylating agent.^1,2 Guadecitabine was rationally designed to be resistant to degradation by cytidine deaminase, prolonging the exposure of tumor cells to the active metabolite, decitabine, thus ensuring greater uptake of decitabine into the DNA of rapidly dividing cancer cells.³ Guadecitabine, through the action of decitabine, inhibits DNA methyl transferase (DNMT), with the potential to reverse aberrant DNA methylation, an epigenetic change characteristic of many cancer cells that results in silencing of critical genes. This action may restore the expression of silenced tumor suppressor genes and tumor-associated antigens.⁴ Through this re-expression of silenced genes, guadecitabine may have the potential to sensitize tumor cells to other anticancer agents,^5,6,7 including immunotherapeutics,⁸ as well as re-sensitizing cancer cells previously resistant to chemotherapeutics.⁷

Guadecitabine is currently being studied in two additional phase 3 studies:

• ASTRAL-2: A randomized, open-label study in leukemia patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) following intensive chemotherapy. See www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02920008.
• ASTRAL-3: A randomized, open-label study in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) after failure of treatment with azacitidine, decitabine, or both. See www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02907359.

In addition, guadecitabine is being evaluated in over twenty investigator and company-sponsored trials in other hematological malignancies and in solid tumors, both as a single agent, and in combination with chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

Guadecitabine was designed to be administered subcutaneously as a low-volume, stable formulation.

About the ASTRAL-1 Study

The ASTRAL-1 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of guadecitabine (formerly SGI-110) in adults with previously untreated AML who are not eligible for intensive induction chemotherapy (see www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02348489). The study is the largest global prospective study ever conducted in this specific patient population, with 815 patients randomized from 163 investigator sites in 24 countries worldwide. The study compared guadecitabine, delivered subcutaneously (SC) 60mg/m²/day for 5 days, with physicians’ choice of azacitidine IV or SC 75 mg/m²/day for 7 days, decitabine IV 20 mg/m²/day for 5 days, or low dose cytarabine SC 20 mg bid for 10 days, all administered in 28-day cycles. In addition to the co-primary endpoints of OS and CR, the study evaluated multiple secondary endpoints including progression-free survival; composite CR or CRc (CR + CRi + CRp); overnight stays in hospital; red cell / platelet transfusions; QOL (EQ-5D-5L); duration of response and safety.

About Acute Myeloid Leukemia

AML is the most common form of acute leukemia in adults.⁹ There were an estimated 21,380 new cases of AML diagnosed in the US in 2017,10 and an estimate of 10,590 patients were projected to have died from AML in the US in 2017.¹¹ Although 60 to 80 percent of AML patients less than 60 years of age may achieve a complete response (CR) with standard intensive induction chemotherapy,¹² the outlook for patients 60 years of age or more is significantly worse, with response rates less than 50 percent, cure rates following transplant remaining at less than 10 percent and a median survival of less than one year.^12,13,14 These figures have not significantly improved during the last three decades. These patients have few therapeutic options available.^15,16 Effective, less toxic therapies are needed for the treatment of AML, particularly for elderly patients where comorbidities and other consequences of aging may often render them ineligible to receive intensive induction chemotherapy, thus denying them a potentially curative transplant.¹⁴

About Astex Pharmaceuticals and Otsuka Pharmaceutical

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system. Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has multiple partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. In October 2013 Astex became a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., based in Tokyo, Japan.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide.” Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://astx.com

For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.com/en/

Contact Details
Martin Buckland
Chief Corporate Officer
Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
4420 Rosewood Drive, Suite 200
Pleasanton 94588, CA, USA
Tel: +1-925-560-2857
Email: Info@astx.com

 

References

1. Kantarjian HM, Roboz GJ, Kropf PL, et al. Guadecitabine (SGI-110) in treatment-naive patients with acute myeloid leukaemia: phase 2 results from a multicentre, randomised, phase 1/2 trial. Lancet Oncol 2017; 18(10): 1317-26.
2. Roboz GJ, Kantarjian HM, Yee KWL, et al. Dose, schedule, safety, and efficacy of guadecitabine in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer 2018; 124(2): 325-34.
3. Issa JJ, Roboz G, Rizzieri D, et al. Safety and tolerability of guadecitabine (SGI-110) in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukaemia: a multicentre, randomised, dose-escalation phase 1 study. Lancet Oncol 2015; 16(9): 1099-110.
4. Griffiths EA, Choy G, Redkar S, Taverna P, Azab M, Karpf AR. SGI-110: DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitor Oncolytic. Drugs Future 2013; 38(8): 535-43.
5. Kuang Y, El-Khoueiry A, Taverna P, Ljungman M, Neamati N. Guadecitabine (SGI-110) priming sensitizes hepatocellular carcinoma cells to oxaliplatin. Mol Oncol 2015; 9(9): 1799-814.
6. Srivastava P, Paluch BE, Matsuzaki J, et al. Immunomodulatory action of SGI-110, a hypomethylating agent, in acute myeloid leukemia cells and xenografts. Leuk Res 2014; 38(11): 1332-41.
7. Fang F, Munck J, Tang J, et al. The novel, small-molecule DNA methylation inhibitor SGI-110 as an ovarian cancer chemosensitizer. Clin Cancer Res 2014; 20(24): 6504-16.
8. Lindblad KE, Goswami M, Hourigan CS, Oetjen KA. Immunological effects of hypomethylating agents. Expert Review of Hematology 2017; 10(8): 745-52.
9. De Kouchkovsky I, Abdul-Hay M. ‘Acute myeloid leukemia: a comprehensive review and 2016 update’. Blood Cancer J. 2016; 6(7):e441.
10. Society AC. Key Statistics for Acute Myeloid Leukemia 2018 [Available from: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-myeloid-leukemia/about/key-statistics.html.
11. SEER. Cancer Stat Facts: Leukemia – Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) 2018 [Available from: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/amyl.html.
12. Dohner H, Estey E, Grimwade D, Amadori S, Appelbaum FR, Buchner T, et al. Diagnosis and management of AML in adults: 2017 ELN recommendations from an international expert panel. Blood. 2017; 129(4):424-47.
13. Burnett A, Wetzler M, Lowenberg B. Therapeutic advances in acute myeloid leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2011; 29(5):487-94.
14. Dombret H, Gardin C. An update of current treatments for adult acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2016; 127(1):53-61.
15. Medeiros BC, Satram-Hoang S, Hurst D, Hoang KQ, Momin F, Reyes C. Big data analysis of treatment patterns and outcomes among elderly acute myeloid leukemia patients in the United States. Ann Hematol. 2015; 94(7):1127-38.
16. Wang R, Zeidan AM, Halene S, Xu X, Davidoff AJ, Huntington SF, et al. Health Care Use by Older Adults With Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the End of Life. J Clin Oncol. 2017; 35(30):3417-24.

Astex Pharmaceuticals (“Astex”), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, announced today that its pharmaceutical collaborator, Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (Janssen), has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the US FDA for erdafitinib in the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer.

Erdafitinib was discovered by Astex and Janssen as part of a 2008 exclusive worldwide collaboration and licence agreement to identify novel, small molecule inhibitors of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR) kinase, including for the treatment of cancer.  Janssen is responsible for the clinical development and commercialisation of all products arising from this collaboration.

The FGFR inhibitor programme between Astex and Janssen underlines the UK strengths in academic-biotech collaboration as it originated from pioneering work on FGFR between Astex and the Cancer Research UK Drug Discovery Group at the Newcastle Cancer Centre, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, UK.

Urothelial cancer, particularly of the bladder, is the sixth most common type of cancer in the USA.  Breakthrough Therapy Designation allows for the expedited development and regulatory review of erdafitinib as a potential new treatment option for patients with metastatic disease.  It was granted based on positive data from a multicenter, open-label Phase 2 clinical trial.

Harren Jhoti Ph.D., President and CEO of Astex, UK, said, “This is a great endorsement of our scientific approach and our team.  Astex is committed to the fight against cancer and so is delighted that erdafitinib has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the US FDA.  Congratulations to our valued collaborators at Janssen for their excellent work in advancing erdafitinib to this exciting stage in its development.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system.  Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies.  In October 2013 Astex became a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.  Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide.”  Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://astx.com

For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/

At the Company

Jeremy Carmichael
VP Corporate Development
Head of Business Development
Astex Pharmaceuticals
436 Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 0QA, UK

Tel: +44(0)1223 226289
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 738066
Email: jeremy.carmichael@astx.com

January　19, 2018

Otsuka Signs Statement of Support for Women’s Empowerment Principles

Astex Pharmaceuticals (“Astex”), an indirect subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd., announces that the latter has signed the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a set of Principles focusing on corporate action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. The WEPs are the result of collaboration between the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) 1 and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).2

Under the corporate philosophy of “Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide,” the Otsuka group of companies is a total health care group active on the global stage. Convinced that maximizing the talents of a diverse group of individuals becomes the driving force for growth, Otsuka promotes diversity across the group companies, including proactively encouraging the participation and advancement of women in the workplace. The signing of the CEO Statement of Support for the WEPs is an opportunity to reinforce efforts to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs)
The Women’s Empowerment Principles are a set of voluntary principles offering guidance for corporate practices to promote equality and women’s empowerment, launched in 2010 as the result of collaboration between the UNGC and UN Women. By signing the CEO Statement of Support for the WEPs, a company demonstrates its dedication to contributing to workplace, marketplace and community environments that encourage advancement and empowerment of women. The seven Women’s Empowerment Principles are listed below.3
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
1. Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
2. Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination
3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers
4. Promote education, training and professional development for women
5. Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
6. Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
7. Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

About Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd.
Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. is the holding company for the Otsuka group of companies, a global healthcare group headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. With operations in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, medical devices and other health-related businesses, the group generated worldwide sales of approximately USD 10.2 billion in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.
The Otsuka group of companies conducts research, development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative products that are uniquely positioned to provide advanced therapy, improve quality of life and support a healthy lifestyle. Additional information can be obtained at https://www.otsuka.com/en/

About Astex Pharmaceuticals
Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system. Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. Astex is a member of the Otsuka Group, based in Japan. Otsuka is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka–people creating new products for better health worldwide.” Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://astx.com
For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.com/en/

References:
1. The UNGC is a voluntary initiative encouraging participation in a worldwide, principle-based framework, aiming to promote sustainability through creative leadership and responsible corporate citizenship. Otsuka Holdings became a signatory to the UNGC in 2016.
2. UN Women is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women. It was established in 2010 through the merger of the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
3. Women’s Empowerment Principles: http://www.weprinciples.org/

Further Milestone Payment Under Novartis Collaboration as Kisqali^® (ribociclib) Receives FDA approval as a First-Line Treatment for HR+/HER2- Advanced Breast Cancer with an aromatase inhibitor

• Novartis drug Kisqali^® (ribociclib, LEE011) receives marketing approval by the US FDA as a first-line drug for HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer in combination with an aromatase inhibitor
• Astex’s scientific expertise was instrumental in the drug’s discovery by solving the crystal structure of the key cancer target CDK4
• A strategic research collaboration with Novartis under which Astex and Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) scientists jointly developed and optimised the chemical structure of Kisqali, which was then progressed through clinical trials by Novartis
• In a clinical trial, Kisqali, plus drug letrozole, has shown significant clinical benefit in all patient subgroups when compared with letrozole alone, for treatment of HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer

Cambridge, UK, 13^th March 2017.  Astex Pharmaceuticals (“Astex”), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, announced today that its long-standing pharmaceutical collaborator, Novartis, has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing approval for Kisqali^® (ribociclib, formerly known as LEE011) plus an aromatase inhibitor as a first-line treatment in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced (metastatic) breast cancer.

Astex is eligible to receive a milestone payment in respect of this FDA marketing approval and on approval of additional regulatory filings in Europe and Japan, as well as royalty payments on annual sales of Kisqali, under the drug discovery alliance entered into between Astex and Novartis in 2005. The partnership was struck to discover cell cycle inhibitors which represented a novel class of compounds that target the mechanisms of cell division in order to prevent or interfere with cancer growth.

Under the collaboration, Astex scientists, based at the company’s research laboratories in Cambridge UK, were responsible for solving the crystal structure of the key cancer target protein CDK4. This was an important scientific breakthrough that no other group had previously been able to achieve, leading to a peer-reviewed publication in PNAS^[1].  Working with the Novartis team at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), Cambridge, Mass., USA, Astex then applied its structure-based drug discovery technology, part of its Pyramid™ platform, in the collaboration that led to the discovery of LEE011, (now known as Kisqali) which was then taken forward by Novartis into clinical trials. In total, a team of some 25 Astex scientists were involved in this research program.

Kisqali^® (ribociclib) is a selective cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, a class of drug that helps slow the progression of cancer by inhibiting two proteins (CDK4 & CDK6) which, when over-activated, can enable cancer cells to grow and divide quickly.

Novartis received the approval under the FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Priority Review programs, based on data from a first-line Phase III trial that met its primary endpoint at interim analysis, due to its superior efficacy compared to letrozole alone. The combination of Kisqali plus letrozole reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 44% over letrozole alone.  There was a sustained separation of the progression free survival curves evident as early as 8 weeks and more than 53% of patients with measurable disease who took Kisqali plus letrozole saw their tumour size shrink by at least 30%. The combination also showed significant clinical benefit in all patient subgroups regardless of disease burden or tumour location^[2].

Harren Jhoti, President and CEO of Astex, UK, said, “We’re committed to the fight against cancer and so we are absolutely delighted that Novartis has received this first approval of a cancer drug arising from our productive collaboration. This milestone further validates the power of our Pyramid™ platform and the excellence of our science.  It’s a moment to celebrate when such ground-breaking scientific work results in a new treatment option for women with advanced breast cancer.”

Astex was formed in 1999 in Cambridge, UK, and was a pioneer in the development of fragment-based drug discovery technology.  Backed by leading venture capital firms, including Abingworth, it has established multiple partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) and GSK as well as Novartis to use the Company’s drug discovery platform, Pyramid™, to identify novel small molecule drugs addressing key disease targets.  Today it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, with a focus on cancer and diseases of the central nervous system.  It employs about 200 staff at its research headquarters in Cambridge UK and its clinical development headquarters in Pleasanton, California, USA.

-ENDS-

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system. Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies.  In October 2013 Astex became a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.  Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide.”  Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://astx.com

For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.com/en/

CONTACT:

At the Company
Jeremy Carmichael
VP Corporate Development
Head of Business Development
Astex Pharmaceuticals
436 Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road,
Cambridge CB4 0QA, UK
Tel: +44(0)1223 226289
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 738066
Email:

Media Enquiries
Sue Charles/ Daniel Gooch
Instinctif Partners
Tel: +44 (0)20 7866 7905
Email: astex@instinctif.com

[1] “Crystal structure of human CDK4 in complex with a D-type cyclin”, 4166–4170 PNAS, March 17, 2009, vol. 106, no. 11 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0809645106

[2] “Ribociclib as First-Line Therapy for HR-Positive, Advanced Breast Cancer” Gabriel N. Hortobagyi et al., NEJM, 2016, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1609709

Astex Joins the Dementia Discovery Fund as a Strategic Investor

Cambridge, UK, 21st November 2016 Astex Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), announced today that it has become a strategic investor in The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF; www.theddfund.com). DDF is a new venture fund set up to promote innovation in dementia research and to support the next generation of drug discovery approaches for neurodegenerative disease. The fund is managed by SV Life Sciences, a leading venture capital firm with a long track record of successful life science investing.

Astex joins the DDF investor group which includes the UK Government’s Department of Health (DoH) and Alzheimer’s Research UK alongside major pharmaceutical companies including Biogen, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Pfizer and Takeda. Astex will participate in the Scientific Advisory Board of the DDF, which includes representatives from the other DDF strategic investors as well as world-leading academics, to share expertise, expand the DDF’s collaborative networks and advise the investment team. The DDF’s priorities are to explore and develop novel hypotheses in neurodegenerative diseases which could lead to new disease modifying treatments for dementia.

As part of Otsuka, a major Japanese pharmaceutical company with a strong tradition in developing treatments for disorders of the CNS, Astex has an emerging focus on CNS drug discovery and is using its proprietary fragment-based drug discovery platform to discover new drug candidates. Involvement in DDF provides Astex with a further mechanism to contribute to the identification of new and emerging areas of science for drug discovery with the aim to develop new treatment options for patients with neurodegenerative disease.

-ends-

About Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system. Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. Astex is a member of the Otsuka Group, based in Japan. Otsuka is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka – people creating new products for better health worldwide.” Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://astx.com

For more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.com/en/

About the Dementia Discovery Fund

The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) is an innovative global investment fund established in October 2015 to deliver new drug approaches for dementia by 2025 to diagnose, intervene early and treat to modify the course and symptoms of the disease. The DDF, managed by SV Life Sciences, has raised more than $100 Million from investors including the UK Government’s Department of Health, Alzheimer’s Research UK and world-leading major pharmaceutical companies: Astex, Biogen, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Pfizer and Takeda. The DDF will work collaboratively with universities, academic institutes, Government, the regulatory agencies and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry internationally to identify and develop novel treatments for dementia.

About SV Life Sciences

SV Life Sciences (SVLS) is a leading international life sciences venture capital firm. SVLS -managed funds have been investing in life sciences companies since the early 1980s and the firm closed its first dedicated life sciences fund in 1994. The SVLS team manages five venture capital funds with approximately $1.9 billion of capital under management. The firm employs a diversified strategy within life sciences in order to selectively capitalise on an expanding opportunity in biotech, medical devices and health-care services. SVLS has offices in Boston, London and San Francisco.

CONTACT:
Jeremy Carmichael
VP Corporate Development
Head of Business Development
Astex Pharmaceuticals
436 Cambridge Science Park
Milton Road,
Cambridge CB4 0QA, UK

Tel: +44(0)1223 226289
Mobile: +44 (0)7786 738066
Email: